A New Rival: N!
by XXPay4XtraShippingsXX
Summary: Ash and co. have been relaxing in Accumula Town after the Unova League. They hear an odd speech about liberating Pokemon from an odd group called Team Plasma, which is immediately followed by a meeting with an unusual teenager who calls himself N...Longer than your average ficlet but pretty much a ficlet.


**Happy New Year!**

**I'm kicking it off with this oneshot on how I think Ash and friends could meet N!**

**IT'S BEEN ANNOUNCED, N'S GONNA BE IN THE POKÉMON ANIME! SQUEAL! FINALLY!**

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_When we last left Ash and friends, they were just returning to Accumula Town for a little relaxation after the excitement of the Unova League. Little do they know, the calm waters are about to get stirred up again…_

Ash put his hands behind his head as he walked. "Wow, I feel great! This town makes you feel totally peaceful, huh, Pikachu?"

"Pika!" agreed the little mouse wholeheartedly.

"Speak for yourself," moaned Iris. "I'm getting bored." Axew popped out of his master's hair and chirped an agreement.

"Aw, cheer up," said Ash. "We need this. Though you do have a point; I'm not sure what else to do in Unova. There's no more Gym Badges left to collect, but I'm not really ready to leave yet…"

Cilan suddenly spoke up. "Hey, what's going on over there?" He was pointing to a crowd with some oddly dressed people at the front.

"Let's go check it out," said Ash. When they arrived, Ash tapped someone's shoulder. "Excuse me, what's going on here?"

"Oh, this? This is Team Plasma; they're going to give a speech. I have no idea what about, though."

Ash looked at his friends, shrugged, and turned to the speaker. Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder.

At the front, facing the crowd, a tall man with long green hair held up both hands to silence the crowd. "People of Accumula Town, I come to you today with a plea. A plea to end the pointless suffering of Pokémon everywhere! You have your Pokémon, whom you claim to love and take care of, whom you claim to be your 'friends.' But I must ask you! How many of you send your Pokémon out to battle _every single day_?! This is an outrage! Pokémon are wonderful, amazing creatures with unknown abilities, so much potential, and yet we—yes, even I—treat them like _garbage_. Simply our toys, playthings. What can we do to save these poor creatures from this mindless suffering? That's right. We must liberate the Pokémon! That is correct, ladies and gentlemen, your Pokémon need, _deserve _to be freed. That is the goal of Team Plasma. We aim to rescue the Pokémon that endure such pain, such suffering, and you can help by simply saying goodbye to your Pokémon. Thank you." He bowed his head, and left the stage.

Ash's eyes had widened during the speech, and a memory, lost a long time ago but still buried in the back of his mind, flashed; a memory of a tall feline capturing his beloved Pokémon and forcing to fight other versions of themselves. At the end of the speech, Ash turned his head to look at Pikachu. The yellow Pokémon, looking shaken, hopped off his friend's shoulder to look up at him.

"…Pikachu. Is it really like that?" asked Ash quietly. "Because if you want to go, I'll let you. I'll even fly you back to Pallet town if you want."

Pikachu looked at his friend incredulously. He shook his little head and snapped, "Pika! Pika-pi, pika-pikachu! Ka pika pika pi-_ka!_" Knowing Ash wouldn't understand, he moved forward and hugged Ash's leg. He almost seemed to be saying, "_You'll have to pry me off first, Ash!_"

Ash grinned. "I knew you wouldn't leave, little buddy!" He rubbed Pikachu's head.

"Excuse me." A teenager resembling the man who had just spoken was looking at the pair with wide eyes. He went up to Ash and snatched Pikachu. "You…You just said…"

"Hey! Give me back my Pikachu!" protested Ash.

"I'll just be a moment," replied the boy. He examined Pikachu from different angles. "I need to ask him a few questions."

"Uh…go ahead…?" said Ash, thinking he meant "Yes or no" questions.

The stranger nodded. "Okay, where are you from, little guy?" Iris, Cilan and Ash stared.

"Pikachu."

"Pallet Town? Where's that?" The three's eyes grew huge.

"Pika."

"Kanto!" exclaimed the boy. "Boy, you've sure traveled a long way! Where'd you meet this guy?" He jabbed a thumb in Ash's direction.

"Pika, Pikachu! Pika-pi pika, pika _pika!_" Pikachu went on for about another minute until the teen held up two hands to stop.

"Whoa. All right, got it. Thanks, Pikachu." The boy handed the mouse back to Ash. "I must say, Ash. I wish there were more people like you in the world. Willing to protect a Pikachu from an entire flock of Spearow? That takes guts. Sounds like something _I'd _do. I'm not even _mentioning _the Legendaries that you've met. Oh, by the way, I'm N." He spoke very quickly.

"You…how'd you know all that?" breathed Ash.

"Oh. Hmm, even when you love Pokémon so much, you're still just another normal human." N sighed. "Pikachu told me."

"Pikachu talked?" asked Ash, dumbfounded.

"What do you mean, _normal human_?" asked Iris. "You're human too!"

"Now, that I'm not so sure about, but from a certain point of view you could say that yes, I am. Now about Pikachu, yes, he talked. Pokémon talk, but most don't understand. I understand Pokémon. I can talk to them and listen to their voices. I have always been able to do so, and why that is is a mystery to me. But enough about me. You two, who are you?" The last question was directed at Iris and Cilan.

"Oh, I'm Iris," exclaimed Iris. "I'm training to be a Dragon Master! This is my partner, Axew!"

"Yew yew!" added the little dragon.

"…Dragon Master?" sniffed N disdainfully. "I see. So you see Dragon types as better than all of the others, hmm? That's called discrimination, _Iris_. It seems as if you've brainwashed poor Axew into thinking the same thing."

"What?! No! I love all Pokémon types! I just…um, connect with Dragon types a little better than others. But I do have an Excadrill, that's not Dragon type!"

"…Fine. At least Axew looks happy," N sighed. "And you?" he asked Cilan.

"I'm Cilan! I'm a Pokémon Connoisseur! I'm also one of the Gym Leaders of Striaton City, but I took some time off to go on an adventure with these guys!" cried Cilan proudly.

"I see. So you're a Pokémon Connoisseur," said N in the same tone as when he was putting down Iris. Cilan's smile dropped. "You prance around, saying you know which Pokémon are best with which Trainers and which moves are best with which Pokémon and yadda yadda yadda when really, you annoy the heck out of people and don't even bother to really listen to the Pokémon's opinions at all!" N leaned in, leering at Cilan. "You disgust me."

"Hey!" cried Ash. "That's enough! Why are you being such a jerk to my friends?!"

"Because it's my duty to Pokémon!" replied N.

"Oh, yeah? Well, my duty is to challenge you to a battle!"

"A battle? Fine. But I've only one Pokémon, so choose who you want to battle with," said N.

"Pikachu?" said Ash. The Pokémon nodded. Pikachu hopped into battle position with an energetic smile, electricity sparking his little red cheeks.

"Go, Purrloin!" cried N, sending out a Pokéball. The purple cat silently padded up.

"I'll be the referee!" exclaimed Cilan. "This will be a one on one match. The Pokémon who knocks out the other is the winner. Begin!"

"Pikachu, use Electro Ball!" shouted Ash.

"Purrloin, use Fake Out," said N calmly. The nimble cat moved in front of Pikachu before he had a chance to use the Electric move, and clapped. The yellow mouse was slammed with a giant shockwave rendering him unable to attack for a moment.

"Pikachu, shake it off! Use Iron Tail!" ordered Ash. This time, Pikachu hit Purrloin, slapping the cat with his temporarily silver tail. "That's a hit this time!"

"More!" exclaimed N. "Let me hear the voice of your Pokémon! Purrloin, use Night Slash!"

"Pikachu, dodge it and use Thunderbolt!" Pikachu slipped away from the Dark type move and summoned powerful lightning that slammed into Purrloin and created a huge cloud of smoke and dust. When it cleared, Purrloin was on the ground with swirly eyes.

"Wow! That battle ended quickly! The winner is Ash!" cried Cilan happily, pointing to the victor.

"Yeah! You did great, Pikachu!" laughed Ash, dropping onto the ground and giving his furry companion a hug.

N smiled. "Yes, we definitely need more of that around. Purrloin…" he murmured as he called his Pokémon back, "…excellent job. Be free." With that, he released Purrloin.

"Whoa! N! Why are you…?" gasped Ash.

N turned to him with a sad smile. "Pokémon aren't happy doing this, Ash. For that reason, I only ever battle using Pokémon I just captured. Next time we battle, I will have different Pokémon. And the time after that." He began to walk away.

"You're saying we'll battle again?" asked Ash excitedly.

N turned his head to look at them and smiled. "No doubt about it!" With that, he left.

"Hmm…what an enigma," mused Cilan.

"Don't you mean what a jerk? He totally made me feel bad!" growled Iris. "He's just a bunch of baloney, just like all of that stuff that Team Plasma or whatever spewed at us."

Ash shrugged. "I don't really get that guy…but I think I just got a new rival!" He grinned and pumped his fist. "You hear that, N? I just got a new rival! You better be ready the next time we battle!"

_As this episode draws to a close, we are faced with many new questions. Just who is this Team Plasma, and who is this mysterious N, a boy who can talk to Pokémon? Tune in next week for the next exciting episode of Pokémon: Black and White!_

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**Wow, this is the first non-romance in a while. Huh.**

**And if you're wondering about Ash's memory of a puple feline, then I guess it was returned to him in the special "Mewtwo Returns." Or maybe it wasn't erased as much as just buried deep in his mind. Whatever.**

**Hope you liked it! PAY FOR UR SHIPPINGS! Peace.**


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